The English views of Americans’ interest in English soccer fall into two camps, separated only by a national outrage or two.

There’s the ugly American example, in which Malcolm Glazer’s sons needed police protection to leave a Manchester United game after his father took ownership and plunged the team into debt. Then there’s the American savior example: George Gillett shaking hands of a wildly enthusiastic Liverpool crowd eager to meet and thank the new owner.

So please excuse the equally rabid Arsenal fan base if it’s a little nervous over the arrival of one Stan Kroenke. He knows plenty about sports. The chairman of Kroenke Sports Enterprises owns the Avalanche, Nuggets, Colorado Mammoth, Colorado Rapids and the Pepsi Center.

But what does he know about English soccer? And what plans does he have after spending $150 million for 12.2 percent interest in a club that dates to 1886?

“What is the Kroenke plan?” said Nigel Phillips, Arsenal shareholder and member of the Arsenal Supporters Trust, the club’s off-field watchdog. “Uncertainty can lead to fear.”

Keep in mind Kroenke’s 12.2 percent is only fourth on the club’s list of ownership. How- ever, many fans of the North London club are concerned that Kroenke won’t stop there.

Arsenal fans read in quiet glee how Glazer, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner, borrowed $800 million and in June 2005 bought controlling shares of rival Manchester United in what was labeled a hostile takeover. United won the Premiership, England’s top soccer division, but the club has a huge debt load and the fans are furious, especially after Glazer raised ticket prices 26.5 percent since last summer. After his four sons, all on the board, escaped a seething mob following a May 2 game against A.C. Milan, fans trailed them back to their hotel and vandalized their car.

Where exactly will Kroenke take this ownership?

“People wonder if it’s a takeover,” said Tim Payton, the Supporters Trust spokesman. “In terms of going forward, he needs to announce his long-term intention. If he’s going to get more involved, how would he do it?”

Arsenal supporters would like to open a dialogue, but Kroenke has said very little publicly about his plans. Then again, this is the same owner who has yet to comment publicly since his Nuggets were ousted in the NBA playoffs by San Antonio and rarely talks to the media except for answering e-mail questions posed well in advance.

His lone correspondence with Arsenal fans has been an April 12 note to the shareholders, reading, “Dear Shareholder: Over the next few months I look forward to learning more about the club through a dialogue with you all. This will inform a view about how our investment can support Arsenal. I look forward to meeting you. Kindest regards, Stan Kroenke.”

Payton has yet to meet Kroenke or see him at a game this season, which finished May 13 with Arsenal in fourth place at 19-8-11, 21 points behind Manchester United.

Wealthy American sports owners such as Kroenke are increasingly looking to English soccer as a long-term investment with an opportunity to cash in on the worldwide passion for the sport.

Arsenal remains one of the world’s top clubs. Considered one of the big four in the 20- team Premiership, Arsenal has won 13 league titles and 10 FA Cups, England’s 135-year-old national championship that encompasses all divisions.

Only three years ago, Arsenal went unbeaten with a record 49 wins. Last May it opened the state-of-the-art, 60,000-seat Emirates Stadium. Then this year, a Denver sports mogul lands in North London.

“People don’t know where Kroenke’s coming from,” Phillips said. “One, he doesn’t say anything; two, the ground is already built and people are naturally suspicious why people want to come over here.”

Kroenke did not respond to questions e-mailed to him for this story.

“When I meet him, my first question would be, ‘What interested you in Arsenal?”‘ Payton said. “Then I’d ask him how he’ll use the current team and setup, then in time more specific questions about where he’s going.”

Arsenal supporters want to believe in Kroenke. They say this is not an anti-American bias. American sports have been a fixture on the English sports radar for many years and there’s an admiration for the free TV access, new stadiums and merchandising. As long as it doesn’t affect the product on the field.

“There’s a lot of ideas and customer-service standards we can learn from American sports,” Payton said. “That is why we endorse the tie-up with the Rapids. I tend to think our sports, especially soccer, can teach American sports a few things. Maybe there’s a benefit flow the other way into his sport.”

That is one stated plan. The Rapids spent part of their preseason camp training with Arsenal in London, and plans are to expand the relationship to training methods and soccer academies. Even the Rapids’ new Dick’s Sporting Goods Park has some Arsenal touches.

Said Paul Andrews, executive vice president of Kroenke Enterprises: “To think we can’t learn from them would be crazy.”

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